2017 Honda Civic Type R Featured in New Ad

New campaign banks on racing heritage

Any manufacturer with motorsports history will at some point leverage that experience in its marketing. In its latest ad, Honda argues that its involvement in racing not only benefits high-performance models like the 2017 Civic Type R and Si, but also more pedestrian offerings like the Honda Ridgeline pickup.

The new spot, titled "Racing at Heart," shows racing vehicles morphing into production Honda models. We first see the Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck, which uses the same 3.5-liter V-6 engine block, heads, and crankshaft as the production Ridgeline, barreling through a rocky valley before its pixels reassemble into the Honda Civic Global Rallycross race car. After launching off a ramp, the Civic transforms into a Honda-powered IndyCar racer, which drives off the track and onto the street. By the time the open-wheel race car brakes for a stop light, it has completely morphed into the new 2017 Honda Civic Type R.

The 30-second commercial is the first in a campaign that aims to link Honda's racing heritage to the vehicles you can buy at the dealership. Hondais certainly not the first automaker to use this angle, but the computer-generated effects are well done. Plus, seeing the Type R on American television further cements the fact that this once-forbidden fruit is finally coming stateside.